The Taipei City Government should not charge local businesses licensing fees for using the city mascot, Bravo the Bear, in their advertising, a Taipei city councilor said yesterday.
The bear is an asset that belongs to all Taipei residents, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said, adding that it would raise the mascot’s profile if all businesses could use the mascot free of charge — at least until it has gained popularity and firms make a profit from campaigns including the bear.
Hsu cited Kumamon, the mascot that represents Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture as an example.
Photo: Tsai Ya-hua, Taipei Times
The prefecture licensed the image rights of Kumamon to private companies free of charge, she said, adding that it the mascot is to be seen everywhere in Japan.
Municipal funds allocated for the brand management of Bravo the Bear are NT$8.5 million (US$ 287,931) annually and cover the costs of event participation, management of the mascot’s Facebook page, licensing, and the establishment and operations of the Bravo Office, a mascot brand store, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said.
The store, located at Taipei City Hall, opened on Aug. 19 and features products, pictures and stories related to the mascot brand.
Department Director-General Hung Mei-yun (洪梅雲) yesterday said that the mascot in 2018 generated NT$1.67 million in licensing fees.
As its revenue dropped to about NT$400,000 last year, the department outsourced its licensing affairs to improve the mascot’s marketing, Hung said.
More and better promotional activities and products are coordinated by an external company, Hung added.
In response to Hsu mentioning Kumamon, Hung said that the Japanese prefecture had marketed the mascot for several years before it rose to prominence.
This year’s operations have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, even though the Bravo Office has performed well, earning nearly NT$100,000 in revenue on its opening day, she said.
The department expects the office to generate an annual income of NT$1 million, she said, adding that the ultimate goal is making Bravo the Bear a self-sufficient business within the city government.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS